State Board approves revised trajectory for adequate
yearly progress under federal No Child Left Behind law

The State Board today approved intermediate goals for
determining adequate yearly progress under the federal
No Child Left Behind law. The Board had approved a version
of these goals as part of the Illini Plan in February
2003 based on the recommendations of the Assessment and
Accountability Task Force, but the U.S. Department of
Education did not approve that plan.

USDE staff said they liked the rationale behind
the Illini Plan, said State Superintendent of Education
Robert E. Schiller, but the No Child Left Behind
law forces them to approve only a trajectory that has
equal increments. The trajectory may include two
or three years when achievement is level, but in years
when progress is required it must be equal from year to
year.

The revised plan, Illini Equal Steps, still offers some
of the best elements of the original plan. It sets the
baseline at 40 percent meeting and exceeding state standards
in reading and mathematics and maintains that level for
the first two years. This timeline gives schools time
to align their curricula with state standards and hire
highly qualified teachers. Between the second through
tenth year, 20042012, growth of 7.5 percent per
year is called for. Between the tenth and eleventh year,
when growth will be more difficult to achieve, the requirement
again is level, finally reaching 100 percent meets and
exceeds only in the twelfth year, 2014. More information,
including a graph showing the trajectory, can be accessed
at http://www.isbe.net/board/meetings/june03meeting/nclbaccountcover.pdf.

Districts and schools will have to meet AYP targets
for their entire student population, as well as for each
of eight demographic groups of students in the district
and school.

Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777